Pilot in Stephenson County crop-dusting crash identified

FREEPORT — The pilot of a crop-dusting plane that crashed Friday is in critical condition at a Wisconsin hospital.

FREEPORT — The pilot of a crop-dusting plane that crashed Friday is in critical condition at a Wisconsin hospital.

A Dromader M-18 crop-dusting aircraft en route to the Leaf River area crashed at 12:59 p.m. after taking off from Albertus Airport in Freeport. The crash occurred in a cornfield approximately 175 yards south of Borchers Road and 70 yards east of Baileyville Road.

The aircraft was fully fueled at 300 gallons and loaded with 3,700 pounds of nonhazardous fertilizer/seed mix.

The aircraft overturned and caught fire with the pilot, David Scott Sheppard, 55, of Lake Forest, still in it. Sheppard was the sole occupant of the plane. He was flown by REACT Helicopter to Rockford Memorial Hospital and later transferred to the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison, Wis., where he is currently listed in critical condition.

Illinois State Police District 16 troopers and the Federal Aviation Administration continue to investigate the accident.

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